*Introduces 90-day special bills
*Dealers, analysts welcome new policy on Diaspora remittances

As part of efforts to support economic recovery and propel the quest to return to the growth path, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the release of banks’ excess cash reserve requirement (CRR), which is above the regulatory minimum.

However, this, it stated, would be done through its issuance of 90-day CBN Special Bills.

The CBN stated this in a letter addressed to all banks, dated December 1, 2020, signed by its Director, Banking Supervision, Mr. Bello Hassan, a copy of which was obtained by THISDAY yesterday.

The CRR is the minimum amount banks are expected to retain with the CBN from their customer deposits.

At last month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the CRR was retained at 27.5 per cent.

The central bank had been sanctioning banks that failed to comply with its minimum loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) policy, among others, by imposing higher CRR on them.

This, analysts had said, was constraining banks’ ability to effectively perform their financial intermediation role.

But in the latest letter titled: “Release of Cash Reserve Requirement through the Issuance of CBN Special Bills,” the banking sector regulator stated: “The CBN on November 30, 2020, approved the release of the excess above regulatory minimum CRR of banks. This is part of measures to improve liquidity and support economic recovery through the increased extension of credit facilities to the real sector. This will be accomplished through the issuance of CBN Special Bills.”

It explained that the features of the special bills include tenor of 90 days, subject to rollover at the instance of the CBN, as well as zero-coupon, with an implied yield to be worked out by the CBN.

In addition, the instrument will be tradable and discountable at CBN window and will qualify as liquid assets.

“The CBN will continue to monitor banks’ utilisation of the liquidity injection from the CRR release to ensure optimal use for transactions that support economic recovery and growth,” it added.

Also in a circular dated December 1, 2020 entitled: Introduction of Central Bank of Nigeria Special Bills, signed by Hassan, the bank reiterated the features of the special bills, saying it “will continue to ensure optimal regulation of systemic liquidity and promote efficient financial markets in support of economic recovery and sustained growth.”

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had recently predicted a two per cent growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2021.

Nigeria’s real GDP contracted for the second consecutive quarter by 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of the year, compared to a growth of -6.10 per cent, which showed that the country has entered its second economic recession in five years.

Dealers, Analysts Welcome New Policy on Diaspora Remittances

Meanwhile, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) and some financial market analysts have expressed support for the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy that grants unfettered access to forex from Diaspora and other money transfer remittances like Western Union and MoneyGram.

Speaking in separate interviews with THISDAY, they stated that the new policy would enhance liquidity in the forex market.

ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, advised forex speculators hoarding dollars to sell now, saying, “Otherwise they will lick their wounds.”

According to him, with the new policy, the monopoly in the remittance market has been broken.

Gwadabe said: “If you were receiving dollars from the bank at about N390 to a dollar and now you are free to receive your dollar as it was sent, you are free to walk into any BDC operator and get it at the prevailing market rate.

“So, there will be liquidity and also the monopoly has been broken because before recipients of such funds didn’t have an option because they are forced to collect naira from the banks. This is a welcome development and we commend the CBN.”

Also, the Senior Economist/Head of Research and Strategy, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Mr. Ayodeji Ebo, described the new policy as a positive move, saying it will help divert remittances back to the official channels.

According to him, the difference in forex rates has always been a disincentive.
“I think it will also increase dollar liquidity in the banks as people would now be more comfortable to channel these funds through the banks. So, it is a step in the positive direction,” he stated.

Head of Research at Agusto & Co, Mr. Jimi Ogbobine, explained that the policy would help boost dollar liquidity in the economy and ease forex pressure in the parallel market.

“So, before now if you receive your money from an international money transfer operator, they would give you naira pegged at around N390 to a dollar. If you walk out of that bank where you had collected that money, if it was dollar you received, you would have changed that money at a prevailing parallel market rate.

“So, because of the difference, you would find a way to cut off the official channel and start receiving the money through informal channels, instead of through the banks.

And when you receive the money, you go to the parallel market to get the maximum rate.

“What the central bank would achieve with this policy is to reduce the pressure and cut off the arbitrage with more retail investors being able to access their dollars through the right channels. We are going to see a possible increase in supply in the parallel market, which would ultimately moderate forex rates, especially as we go into the yuletide season when we are going to have many Nigerians in the Diaspora coming back home,” Ogbobine explained.

Also, Head of Research at United Capital, Mr. Wale Olusi, said the policy is “going to ease the pressure in the parallel market.

“This is a short-term policy that if sustained will be beneficial to the market in the long run. Remittances in Nigeria yearly are over $20 billion. Remittances can roughly take about 40 per cent of the demand for import.

“Those can actually, to a large extent, save the central bank a lot of headaches if we are able to cement the structure around remittances. So, I think it is a brilliant move,” he said.

The new CBN policy allows beneficiaries of Diaspora remittances through IMTOs to henceforth receive such inflows in the original foreign currency through the designated bank of their choice.

The CBN explained that the new regulations were part of efforts to liberalise, simplify and improve the receipt and administration of Diaspora remittances into Nigeria.

The central bank announced the new policy in a circular titled: “Amendment to Procedures for Receipt of Diaspora Remittances,” dated November 30, 2020, that was signed by its Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Dr. Ozoemena Nnaji.

Thenigerialawyer

The digitalisation of Nigerian ports, deployment of e-Customs, investment of over $300 million in inland dry ports and the overhaul of transportation logistics will position Nigeria to take maximum advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which will be operational January 1, 2021, the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello has said.

Bello stated this when the head of the transport section of the Presidential Action Committee on AfCFTA, Ms. Funmi Folorunso paid him a working visit in Lagos.

Trading under the AfCFTA Agreement was due to commence on 1 July 2020, but as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the date was been postponed. It has been indicated that the new date for operationalisation is January 1, 2021.

According to him, “I am not a despondent person I am very optimistic person that is why I want to believe that by early next year, the gridlock in Apapa will disappear. This is because we are having to approach it from the scientific angle. First, we have to make our port digital and contactless, no need for anybody to go to the port to look for arrival time of vessels or to make payments.

“All these can be done online. I always give example of the banking halls years back where we used to have long queues to transact business. But all that is gone now, you make your transactions through the telephone.

“That is what we want our ports to be like, it must be contactless and transactions must be online. Another problem we have is that we rely on the roads for the delivery and evacuation of cargo, which is totally wrong. To deliver and evacuate 75 per cent of our cargo through the roads is totally unacceptable. Now the federal government is introducing the rail, which will be cheaper and will give the truckers a run for their money.”

Nigeria, he stated, has started using barges through the inland water ways to take cargo in out of the ports.

“So we will not depend on the roads again. I think by November this year the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) will deploy electronic call up system. That again is traffic management and that will make our ports more competitive. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is deploying E-Customs in accordance with World Customs Organisation (WCO) rules, so scanners will be there and 10 per cent physical examination will be a thing of the past.

“We will also soon have the Lekki Deep sea port, which will have a draft of 18 metres and will have 250, 000 direct employment. It is situated at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) and will attract large vessels. The economy of scale will suggest that Nigeria will no longer be a transshipment destination. Nigeria is conscious of our natural position as a country in the centre of the world, “he said.

He added, “The national fleet that will soon come on board is very important for Nigeria to have ownership of the means of transportation, especially, we have to operate and run the ships and to carry our crude oil. We have to look at our trade terms; there are laws that we have to harvest. The NSC is already running with the carriage of goods by rail and roads, to guide transactions in Africa.”

He called on all stakeholders in the maritime industry not to give up on their effort to salvage the industry as continues advocacy will turn things around for the better.

“We have to continue our advocacy, our economy must be export driven because we have 66 items that Nigeria can export and earn huge foreign exchange. Of the 66 agricultural products that we can export, Nigeria has 33 that no country can rival us in. However, the logistics chain must be efficient otherwise we are going nowhere. The rail capacity, predictability and rates must be made public to enable investors’ come in,” he said.

Thenigerialawyer

The House of Representatives on Tuesday set up an inquiry into allegations that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, was riddled with fraud and irregularities which had led to the non-payment of salaries and allowances of Federal Civil Servants.

The Public Accounts Committee of the House, initiated the inquest in the course of engaging tertiary institutions and other agencies on their financial audit reports for 2018-2019.

The Committee members expressed worry over what they called leakages and sharp practices that they said were observed in the course of their earlier engagement with other agencies, particularly, the J.S. Tarkar University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

The Chairman of the Committee, Oluwole Oke gave the ruling while drilling the Rector of Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, Zubair Mustapha on the expenditure and financial audit reports of the tertiary institution, for the years 2018 and 2019.

The Rector of the school, told the Committee, that pending salaries for the years under review, were due to anomalies in the IPPIS, a salary payment system introduced by the President Muhammadu Buhari Government in 2017.

He added that the backlog of salaries are from people who were not captured by IPPIS.

In a swift response, the Lawmakers said that the IPPIS must be investigated, to detect some of the irregularities seen in the system.

The Committee resolved to write the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmad and the Accountant General of the Federation, to explain alleged sleaze, in the federal staff payment system.

The Committee also summoned the External Auditors of the Accounts of Auchi Polytechnic, over discrepancies in the audited reports of the school, for 2018-2019.

The Rector of the school, who claimed that the institution, generated only 1.91billion naira in 2019, however failed to give detailed and technical breakdown of the expenditure of the money and audits of the accounts.

Representatives of the Office of the Auditor of the Federation, Anthony Ayine at the investigative Hearing also strongly rejected his presentation before the Committee.

Consequently, the Committee placed the Institution on status of inquiry in order to determine it’s financial status

The National Human Rights Commission panel investigating allegations of human rights violations against the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) heard on Tuesday in Abuja how policemen in Rivers killed a young man in the presence of his mother.

Petitioner Mrs Victoria Agori made the allegation while testifying before the panel on a case she filed asking for the prosecution of the police officers that killed her son, Daniel Agori and the release of his body for burial.

“Justine Adaka gave the order to kill my son and my son was killed right in my presence.

“Daniel Agori did not make any statement before they killed him like a chicken.

“These policemen are bad people. They called me mother of a kidnapper and cultist but my son was neither a kidnapper nor a cultist.

“He was a footballer and hairstylist. He was to travel to Spain.”

When asked by James Idachaba, the respondent’s counsel, if the panel was the only place she had taken her case to, Agori said no, pointing out however, that the Federation of International Women Lawyers and some human rights activists had been helpful.

She told the panel that she had been threatened repeatedly by unknown telephone numbers and that it was due to such threats that she had to leave Port Harcourt.

Agori said that the police had been telling her for over a year that they were investigating the matter but that there had been no outcome on the investigation.

Earlier, Counsel to Agori, Mr Abiodun Olutekunbi, told the panel that the petitioner and her two sons, late Daniel and David and one Silver Ogbonna, Daniel’s fiancé were bundled to the Unit Command at Aluu in Ikwerre, Rivers on May 10, 2019.

He alleged that on arrival at the station, after a brief chat between SP. Justine Adaka and DSP. Yusuf Bello, in the presence of the petitioner the policemen ordered that the Daniel should be killed immediately.

The counsel disclosed that the deceased was detached from a joint handcuff and blindfolded with a shirt and shot to death at point-blank range.

Olutekunbi also alleged that Daniel’s mum was bleeding from her private part because the nozzle of a gun was used by the policemen to assault her.

Asked what he wanted the panel to do for his clients, the lawyer said: “We want the panel to order the prosecution of SP. Justine Adaka, DSP. Yusuf Bello and Musa before a court of competent jurisdiction.

“We also seek the order of the panel for the immediate release of the corpse of Daniel Agori for proper burial.

“We further pray for the order of the panel for compensation of one billion naira.”

He also prayed for an order of the panel to subpoen the public relations officer of the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit in Rivers.

The panel Chairman, Justice Suleiman Galadama, adjourned the matter until Jan. 26 next year for continuation of hearing. (NAN)

The North East governors have backed the call on the Federal Government to engage mercenaries in the fight against insurgents in the region.

Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, stated this on Tuesday on behalf of his colleagues during a visit to Borno State to condole with the government and the people over the recent killing of farmers in the state.

According to him, the governors are in support of the recommendations made by Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on how to win the war against Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents terrorising the region.

“Our dear brother, we are here to condole you over the killing of farmers by Boko Haram insurgents; we are indeed saddened and traumatised,” Governor Ishaku said.

He added, “I will key into your request, which you said that the Federal Government should invite some mercenaries to come and help us out of this problem because what you cannot do, what you cannot solve, I think we should invite who can solve it for us.”

The visit was in the wake of Boko Haram’s beheading of 43 farmers from Zabarmari community who were attacked on Saturday last week at Koshobe, a village in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno.

Apart from engaging mercenaries, Governor Zulum proposed the immediate recruitment of youths into the military to boost its strength, as well as the provision of mine resistance armoured personnel carriers and other equipment for the military, police, and other security agencies involved in the insurgency fight.

During Tuesday’s visit, Governor Ishaku said, “We cannot continuously be mourning, there has to be a time to stop the mourning.

“All of us in the North East Governors Forum, we are pleading with the Federal Government to find a solution to the issue of Boko Haram.”

The Taraba governor also appealed to the Federal Government to look into the infrastructural deficit in the region and give it the needed attention.

According to him, it is embarrassing that the North East has an allocation of 0.35 per cent in the nation’s budget despite the problems of insurgency and others in the region.

“This is very unfair; I will once again call on the Federal Government that the issue of Mambila hydropower project should be looked at as matter of urgency.

“Without this power, we will not indeed have any meaningful development,” Governor Ishaku Stated.

Governor Zulum, in his response, extended his appreciation to the delegation for the visit.

Other governors on the visit included Ahmadu Fitiri of Adamawa, Bala Mohammed from Bauchi, and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State.

*Mohammed advocates capacity-building in tourism sector

The Federal Government has paid 2,186 firms employing 12,117 individuals under the payroll support as part of efforts to cushion the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said.

Mohammed stated this in Makurdi, Benue State on Monday at the formal take-off of the North Central Zonal Headquarters of the Nigerian Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR).

He said the Federal Government has been doing a lot to alleviate the impact of the pandemic, especially as it affects the Creative and Tourism Sector, through its N75 billion Survival Fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The minister also hailed the impact of the hospital industry, saying tourism has now become a major catalyst for economic growth and social well-being of the citizenry in most countries around the world, especially the developing countries.

In Nigeria, he said, the travel, hospitality, tourism and other related services have over one million private establishments employing over 9.8 million persons in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The minister said the country’s hospitality industry contributed about 4.8% to the country’s total national output (GDP) and utilised about 1.6% Nigerians in the year 2016.

Quoting Price water House Cooper’s 2019 hospitality report, Mohammed noted that the hospitality industry was expected to grow by 12 per cent yearly till 2023, making it one of the fastest growing markets, before the advent of Covid-19.

The minister also canvassed for training and retraining for players in the industry to maximise the potentials in the sector.

He said capacity-building for players in tourism is key to the development of the sector.

He said: “Now, one of the prerequisites for tourism to develop and play its desired role in the socio-economic life of a nation is availability of well-trained personnel. This forms the basis for the Federal Government’s decision to have a specialised training institution for the hospitality and tourism industry in Nigeria, which culminated in the establishment of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR).

He thanked the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom for building and donating the edifice to NIHOTOUR and described the gesture as a giant stride in the development of tourism in the state and the country.

Ortom, accompanied by Deputy Governor Benson Abounu and Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Mrs. Ngunan Addingi, conducted the minister and the Director-General of NIHOTOUR, Nura Kangiwa, round the institute, which will be offering certificate, Basic Advanced Certificate, Diploma, Professional Certificate and Post-Graduate Diploma in various fields in tourism and hospitality.

Thenigerialawyer

•Say life has no value under him

•Describe Garba Shehu’s comment as insensitive

By Adedayo Akinwale

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has demanded the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari following the mounting security challenges in the country with the government appearing helpless.

The Forum also expressed outrage over the massacre of Borno rice farmers, saying life has no value under Buhari’s administration.It added that, “In civilized nations, leaders who fail so spectacularly to provide security will do the honourable thing and resign.

”The Director of  Publicity and Advocacy of the  Forum, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement issued Tuesday, described the response by the President’s spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, as ‘most insensitive’.The forum said it had consistently drawn attention to lack of political will to fight the Boko Haram insurgency and other threats such as banditry, rustling and kidnapping.It added that it had offered suggestions on how the security infrastructure could be improved and leadership of the military could be made more effective.

NEF said obviously, despite  advice and concerns from many other Nigerians, these had  made no impression on President  Buhari.It stated: “Northern Elders Forum (NEF) joins Nigerians in expressing outrage at the killings of farmers in Borno State and many other people on a daily basis in many parts of the North. Our voices have been raised without pause for a long time against pervasive insecurity in our region.

“These particular killings have been greeted by the most insensitive response by spokespersons of the President. The lame excuse that farmers had  not sought permission from the military to harvest produce merely expose the misleading claims that our military had secured vast territories from the insurgency.”

“Under this administration, life has lost its value, and more and more citizens are coming under the influence of criminals. We do not see any evidence of a willingness on the part of President Buhari to honour his oath to provide security over Nigerians.“In civilized nations, leaders who fail so spectacularly to provide security will do the honourable thing and resign,” it added.The Forum pointed out that these killings and the reality they expose would make relocation of citizens and resumption of economic activities a lot more difficult to achieve even for a leadership that attaches priority to them, adding this administration does not.

noted that elsewhere in many parts of the North, many farming communities had not been allowed by bandits and kidnappers to plant crops.It said those who did were being prevented from harvesting by these same criminals, adding that the prospects for famine are real in the face of limited production of food in many of our communities.

On Thursday, website of popular women’s right group, Feminist Coalition, and two others allegedly suffered a cyber attack and became inaccessible to Nigerians.

system and advocates digital rights in Africa, has written a Freedom of Information request to the Nigerian Communications Commission demanding information on the alleged secret blocking of the domain names of #EndSARS related websites by the Nigerian Government.

On Thursday, website of popular women’s right group, Feminist Coalition, and two others allegedly suffered a cyber attack and became inaccessible to Nigerians. 

When accessed with a Nigerian mobile network, the websites cannot be reached but when a user uses a VPN, the sites become accessible.

PIN in a statement on Friday described the action as violation of constitutionally and globally guaranteed rights of freedom of expression and access to information.

The statement reads, “Websites related to the campaign have been inaccessible as reported by many citizens and from independent checks carried out by Paradigm Initiative. These attempts are an unacceptable violation of constitutionally and globally guaranteed rights of freedom of expression and access to information.

“In a similar development that occurred in October 2017, we monitored and challenged the Nigerian government’s censorship directive through the Nigerian Communications Commission, an agency which is supposedly independent.

“The NCC must not continue to offer itself to be used by the Federal Government under any guise to intimidate citizens who engage in legitimate protests and exercise their digital rights by leveraging digital platforms for the protest.”

The group’s Senior Program Manager, Adeboye Adegoke, added, “Section 39 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria expressly provides that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides similarly that everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression.

“This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”

Speaking also, ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of PIN, said the group had sent a FoI request to the NCC to answer key questions such as who ordered the recent blocking of websites, the reason for the blocking, disruption, or restriction on the websites.

He said, “We want to know under which legal provision this is being carried out and if the NCC authorised the blocking, disruption, or restriction of these websites. We also need to know if the owners of the websites were informed that their websites will be blocked, and if they were given an opportunity for a fair hearing.

“Another question that must be answered is: Did the NCC act independently or was it acting on behalf of other government institutions? In a country with increasingly closed civic spaces and one that must do more work to protect freedom of expression and press freedom, a dangerous precedent could be set if the NCC continues to carry out the restriction of access to websites that are critical of the government or that support citizens’ right to contribute to our democracy.”